Today, NASA-funded researchers released to the general public a new "4D" live model of Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can now fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself.

Venus and Jupiterare converging for a spectacular three-way conjunction with the crescent Moon--a rare gathering some are calling 'the sky show of the year.' Today's story tells when and where to look.

Imagine a billion-ton cloud of gas launching itself off the surface of the sun and then ... doing a cartwheel. That's exactly what happened on April 9, 2008, when a coronal mass ejection or "CME" pirouetted over the sun's limb in full view of an international fleet of spacecraft.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will play some crafty tricks to find water on the moon, such as using starlight to see into deep, dark craters and checking the temperature with a scientific device known as "Diviner."

Gravitationally speaking, The Moonis a strange place. Satellites in lunar orbit feel odd, sideways tugs and end up nose down in the moondust. Astronautsstanding in the middle of lunar lava seas weigh more than they do standing on the shore. A new NASA mission named GRAIL aims to map the moon's quirky gravity field and thus pave the way for future exploration.

A cutting-edge laboratory has opened in Alabama. Its mission: to combat diseases ranging from asthma to malaria to stroke using data from NASA satellites. Space scientists and public health officials are working together to train the doctors of tomorrow in this far-out approach to medicine.

Cosmic explosions known as Gamma-ray Burstsare curiously picky about where they explode. Shunning spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, Gamma-ray Burstsprefer to 'go off' in oddball star systems that astronomers are just beginning to understand.